Furnace regulator



Jan. 14, 1941. G. F. FLORY FURNACE REGULATOR Filed Jan. 31, 1940 @eo/yeFf/og INVENTOR) AWO/QA/ X Patented Jan. 14, 1941 UNITED STATES FURNACE REGULATOR George F. Flory, Youngstown, Ohio 7 Application January 31, 1940, SerialNo. 316,561

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a furnace regulator and more particularly to apparatus for utilizing the expansion and contraction of the furnace itself in controlling the draft and check doors of the furnace.

An object of the invention is the provision of an extremely simple mechanism adapted to be positioned directly above a furnace preferably on the floor joists thereabove and connected by means of a rod with the top of the furnace itself so that vertical expansion and contraction of the furnace will result in the multiplication of this movement and the application of the same to the draft and check doors of the furnace.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a furnace regulator adapted to utilize the vertical expansion and contraction of the furnace in regulating the draft and check doors thereof and provided with simple adjustment and indicator means so that various adjustments may be made in varying the motion imparted the draft and check doors in relation to the expansion and contraction of the furnace.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a furnace regulator adapted to utilize the vertical expansion and contraction of the furnace in opening and closing the draft and check doors thereof wherein manual adjustment means are provided for varying the action of the an regulator and wherein remote control means are incorporated so that adjustment may be made from one of the upstairs rooms of the building in which the regulator is installed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view 35 which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a conventional warm air furnace with parts broken away showing a section of the radiator portion thereof and showing the furnace regulator in position above 55 ment means.

the furnace and operatively connected tothera- By referring to the drawing and Figure 1 in particular it will be seen that a conventional furnace including a radiator portion H] and a fire box II has been enclosed in a conventional warm air casing 12. The furnace is provided with usual fire door l3 and a draft door M which is located on an ash pit door l5. A flue pipe l6 communicating with the radiator i9 and with the chimney, not shown, is provided with the conventional check door ll. Various warm air conducting pipes !8 are spaced about the uppermost portion of the furnace which is provided with the usual cone shaped depression 19 which serves to direct the heated air into the warm air conducting pipes IB. The furnace regulator mecha-' nism is positioned immediately above the furnace and preferably on the floor joists 20. This regulator mechanism which can be seen more clearly in Figure 2 of the drawing, comprises a U-shaped supporting frame 2| which is aiiixed to the floor joists 20 by any practical means. A tubular pivot 22 is positioned beneath and across the middle of the supporting frame 2| and is provided with annular flanges 23 which serve to insure its positioning thereinunder. in this position beneath the supporting frame 2!. by reason of a notched tubular body 24 which is relatively short in length in comparison with the supporting frame 2! and in comparison with a tubular operating arm 25 which is rotatably positioned therein so that its opposite ends 26 and 21 extend out beyond the furnace and thus permit chains 28 and 29 to descend therefrom to the draft and check doors I 4 and I1 respectively. These chains 28 and 29 are wound about the tubular operating arm 25 in opposite directions so that their relative length may be changed by revolving the tubular operating arm 25 in the body portion 24 by means of a conveniently positioned knob 3t. A pair of coil springs 3| attached at their outermost ends to the supporting frame 2| hold the tubular body 24 and the tubular operating arm 25 positioned therethrough in position against the tubular pivot 22 of the supporting frame 2|. In this they are assisted by the upward thrust resulting from the placement of an adjustable thrust rod 32 the lower end 33 of which rests upon the radiator ll] of the furnace and the uppermost end 34 of which is formed with a chisel point adapted to engage any one of a plurality of notches 35 formed in the tubular body 24 adjacent the tubular pivot 22. The thrust rod 32 passes downwardly through a small opening in the cone shaped top portion IQ of the casing l2 of the furnace.

It is held It will thus be seen that as the furnace itself expands vertically due to increasing temperatures the vertical motion is carried upwardly through the thrust rod 32 where it causes a rocking movement of the tubular body 24 and the tubular operating arm 25 positioned therethrough. The opposite ends 26 and 21 of this tubular operating arm move up and down as a result thereof and this motion is transmitted to the draft and check doors as heretofore described.

In order that the furnace regulator shown and described herein may be adjusted from one of the upstairs rooms of the building in which the same is located, means has been incorporated in the regulator mechanism whereby the tubular operating arm 25 may be rotated to accomplish the desirable adjustment, the said means comprising a sheave 36 is firmly positioned on the rotatable tubular operating arm 25 adjacent an end of the tubular body portion 24. A chain 31 is wrapped once around this sheave 36 and each end thereof is carried out on an approximately horizontal plane and passed around a pair of stationary pulleys 38 from whence the same may be extended by well known means to an upstairs room where a regulator lever may be located by which the chain may be moved thus effectively rotating the sheave 36 and the operating arm 25 and making the adjustment desired, It will thus be seen that the furnace regulator can be adjusted either by means of the knob 30 formed on the outermost end 26 of the operating arm 25, or by the remote control means described. In order that the approximate adjustment of the regulator may be determined a dial 39 with suitable markings thereon is positioned on the outermost end of the tubular body 24 and a suitable pointer 40 is positioned adjacent thereto on the tubular operating arm 25. The pointer 40 and the sheave 36 positioned adj a- 40 cent opposite ends of the tubular body 24 serve to definitely locate the tubular operating arm 25 therein.

What I claim is:

1. A furnace regulator adapted to utilize the 145 vertical expanding movement of a warm air furnace in controlling the draft and check doors thereof and comprising a supporting frame adapted to be positioned on floor joists above the furnace, a pivot member positioned below the said frame and at right angles thereto, a tubular body positioned beneath the said pivot member at right angles thereto, means for supporting the said tubular body beneath the said pivot member, said means comprising a spring positioned between the said frame and the said tubular body and located at one side of the pivot member and a thrust bar positioned between the said furnace and the said tubular body at a point adjacent the pivot member on the opposite side thereof from the said spring, an operating arm rotatably positioned in the said tubular body so that the ends thereof extend outwardly therefrom, a chain at each end thereof wound thereabout in opposite directions and attached to the said draft and check doors, respectively, so that vertical exanding movement of the said furnace results in the tilting of the tubular body and operating arm and desirable control of the draft and check doors of the furnace thereby. I

2. A furnace regulator adapted to utilize the vertical expanding movement of a warm air furnace in regulating the draft and check doors thereof and comprising a U shaped supporting frame adapted to be positioned above the said furnace, a pivot bar positioned below and across the said U shaped frame, a tubular body positioned beneath the said frame and across the said pivot bar, means for supporting the said tubular body therebeneath, said means comprising a spring affixed to the said frame and to the said tubular body at one side of the said pivot bar and a thrust bar positioned between the said furnace and the said tubular body at a point adjacent the said pivot bar on the other side thereof so as to support the tubular body in operative position, an operating arm of relatively greater length rotatably positioned in the said tubular body, chains attached to the outermost ends of the said operat-v ing arm each chain being wound about the said arm a few turns in opposite directions, the other ends of the said chains being attached to the draft and check doors respectively, means for varying the effective length of the said chains, and comprising a hand knob positioned on the said operating arm so that the same may be rotated thereby.

, GEORGE F. FLORY. 

